Hittin It: A Hitman Romance (Marked for Love Book 2) (6 page)

“I’m not dumb. I know how to hide.”

“I’m sure you do, but they know how to find you. It’s their job, and they’re good at it or they wouldn’t have been sent after
me
.”

Funny enough, I believed him. Funny enough, I found it oddly comforting that he was hard to kill, but I wasn’t done being angry.

“Well, that’s what you get for killing people,” I spat, hitting him in the stomach. He didn’t budge. Just stared down at me with that grim, thin-lipped, “Stoic Man” expression. “Why should
I
pay for all the bad karma
you’ve
reaped? Why?” I’d done that once, in another lifetime, and it had nearly killed me then. This time would be different. This time had to be different. I might not have much of a life, but it was
mine
.

“If we split up, they’ll find you and they’ll use you to find me, and then they’ll kill you.” He tucked my arm in his and turned me back toward the gates. His brutal honesty had left me subdued and yes, frightened. “Together we stand a better chance.”

“How long?”

“How long what?”

“How long do we have to stay together?”

“Until I find out who’s after us and kill them.”

A shudder ran through me, but this time I didn’t throw up.

There was nothing left in my stomach.

B
ags thrown over one shoulder, crate clutched between his fingers, Will draped his other arm over Sabrina’s shoulders. Hopefully they looked like any other couple even though she was in costume and he wasn’t. The last thing he needed was for her to run inside, hollering for the cops and blubbering about hired killers. Police involvement was bad,
very
bad. At the very least, it’d bring him attention he didn’t need. At the worst, it would get them killed that much faster. But he had a feeling he’d convinced her to see things his way.

This time the walk back to her spot only took twenty minutes. Neither of them spoke. Even the dog stayed quiet.

“Do you have any idea how much money I’m going to lose?” she asked as she folded up the purple tablecloth.

“I’ll make it up to you.”

“Oh, I bet you’re just
loaded
.” She snatched the crate from him and pitched the cloth inside. She quickly disassembled the table, her movements jerky, and shoved it at him. He’d barely gotten a grip on it when the crate landed in his arms. Clutching the little folding stools to her, Sabrina scowled at him, her eyes blazing.

“Let’s go."

Will would have laughed at the way she’d “punished” him if the situation hadn’t been so serious. Sabrina definitely knew how to make her unhappiness known. Unlike his ex, Sabrina wasn't afraid to put her feelings out there. Sighing, he followed her through the crowd to the vendor parking lot, thinking of that turkey leg he’d never gotten.

“Gimme your keys.”

“You’re not driving my van.” Shoulders stiff, she stalked around the front and climbed in, leaving him to ride shotgun. “You gave it to me. Remember?”

Except, when he got there, the seat was already taken.  “Move, dog.”

“His name is Scamp.
Use it
,” she bit out.

Will glanced at her over the top of his sunglasses, then back down at the dog. He finally spoke through gritted teeth, “Move, Scamp.”

Instead of moving, Scamp looked up at him, the doggie equivalent of “fuck you” on his face.

“Please,” Sabrina said softly.

They really didn’t have time for this. “Please.” Again Scamp didn’t budge. God only knew what would happen if he picked the damn dog up. “Move, Scamp,
please
.”

With one last nasty look, the dog turned, showing his ass to Will, and jumped down, disappearing in the back of the van.

“Lay down, Scamp,” Sabrina happily called.

The dog replied with a bark as he settled on Sabrina’s mattress.

If Will knew one thing, he knew he’d have to find out who was after him as fast as possible. He didn’t know how much of...Scamp he could take.

Sabrina started the van, and abominably loud country music assaulted his ears. He reached over and lowered the volume. “Can you turn on the air?”

“No.” She backed out.

“No?”

“No. Fresh air is better for you. Plus the A/C burns more gas.”

Fresh air that hovered right around 103 degrees. Groaning, he rolled down his window, hoping he could persuade her to turn the A/C on after she finished punishing him. “Head for the nearest gas station.”

“I’ve got a full tank,” she said, pulling out on the farm road.

Could she possibly argue with him anymore? He scanned the countryside as far as he could see, but there wasn’t a car in sight. “Head for the highway and find me a convenience store so I can get a disposable phone.”

By the time he climbed out of the van ten minutes later, Will had what was possibly the worst headache of his life and his hand throbbed painfully. “Want anything?”

She glanced at him over the top of her sunglasses. “My life back would be nice.”

“Besides that?”

“Beef jerky.” She turned the music up and proceeded to sing along with some twangy, female country singer.

None of the cars looked like the one from the fairgrounds. Thank God for small favors, but Will wouldn’t be surprised if they were being watched. It’s what
he’d
do. Of course, he wouldn’t have missed his target in the first place, because he would have planned better.

Inside, the place was doing a brisk business, but he didn’t waste any time. It wasn’t like they’d shoot him in a crowded store, but the faster they got back on the road, put some distance between themselves and San Antonio, the better. Will grabbed a couple packages of beef jerky, something for his headache, a six-pack of water and, after perusing the candy bars, some sugar free gum. He never ate candy. Had never developed much of a taste for sweets, other than his mother’s pie, but right then, a Snickers bar sounded like heaven to him. He also got a phone.

“Drive,” he barked as he climbed into the van.

She stared at him, her gaze never wavering as she put the van in reverse. “You don’t have to snap at me.”

“You need to learn to move quicker.” He set the bags between them and fished out the phone. “Our lives may depend on it.”

“I’d tell you to loosen up, but I’m afraid to ask what you do to relax.”

“Drive.” He snapped his seatbelt into place and threw her jerky on the consoled between them. “Before someone makes it look like we’ve been carjacked and our bodies are found in a shallow ditch somewhere.” Again, his words were harsh out of necessity, but he immediately regretted them. Sabrina hadn’t asked for this. He should have just thrown her damn journals in the trash.

She drove, but Will regretted his words the minute they were out of his mouth. She didn’t talk to him again until they hit New Braunfels, almost an hour later. By then, Will had relaxed enough to tackle the distraction of another phone call. While the phone rang, he fished a first aid kit out of his bag. He wasn’t willing to use his own phone and had even shut it off and removed the battery in case whoever was after him had decided to use it to track them.

“Hello,” a female voice said.

“Let me talk to Wynn. Please.” From beside him, Sabrina snorted.

“Hang on.” Julie sighed, and he heard the muffled sound of her shouting for his brother. Julie and Wynn had been married almost a year, and she still hadn’t gotten past her disapproval over how the Collier men made their living. She would, eventually, if she planned on
staying married
to his brother.

“This is Wynn,” he said as Julie hung up.

“We’re on the road.”

Wynn snorted. “I’d ask who’s got it out for you, but I’m sure the list is hellaciously long.”

“Gee thanks.” 

“Just saying, bro.”

“Look, we’re headed north on I-35—”

“
We?
” his brother echoed.

Will glanced at Sabrina and sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Don’t come here.”

“I’m not dumb, Wynn.” But he had no idea where to go. “I need a place to hole up.”

“You want someplace in the middle of nowhere where you can see folks coming for miles, and run the risk of being trapped, or you want some place with lots of people where you never see the bullet coming?”

He should have gotten that Snickers
and
a soda. “You’re not funny.
This
isn’t funny.”

“I’m not trying to be funny, Will. I’m on it. Now lighten the fuck up.”

“Sorry,” he said even though he wasn’t. They needed to go to ground fast. “But I don’t have a lot of options.”

“Let me talk to Julie, and I’ll call you back.”

“Fine.”

“Hey?”

“What?”

“Is she pretty?”

“Go to hell.” He hung up, took his Ibuprofen and swallowed half a bottle of water as the rolling scenery raced by.

“You don’t have a sister in Austin do you?”

“No. She lives in Dallas.”

“Is she a hit...woman?” Sabrina asked a few minutes later.

Will almost laughed. “No. She’s a college student.”

Danielle hated guns, hated how her brothers made a living and gave their father endless grief about it. Will sighed, praying for his headache to let up, but he had a feeling it’d be a long time before it did.

“Will?”

“Hmmm?”

“Where are we going?”

“For now? North. Just north.”

While Sabrina drove, he kept an eye in front of and behind them. He sighed in relief when Wynn finally called back with directions to a lake cabin not too far from the Red River.

* * *

M
any hours later Will sat on a rickety front porch, warped wood cutting into his ass, listening. For a car, for a rifle. For footsteps.  He didn’t expect them to come from inside the cabin, but a floorboard groaned, then another, then the door opened, scraping against worn hardwood. Sabrina stepped outside, joining him on the porch.

The night was dark, and cool, thanks to a breeze from the nearby lake. It rustled through the oak trees, carrying the sound of frogs croaking.

Earlier she’d said she hated him; now she sat leaning against him, arms wrapped around herself, the darkness and her hair hiding her face from him. He didn’t bother fighting the urge to wrap a protective arm around her. She’d showered and her damp hair smelled sweet.The click of Scamp’s nails announced his arrival. Instead of joining Sabrina, he jumped down the steps, sniffed around in the trampled yard a bit then lifted his nose to the sky, smelling something.

Wetting his lips, Will tensed, his grip tightening on the gun cradled in his hand, but Scamp just resumed sniffing and walking. He disappeared around the side of the house.

Will didn’t blame Sabrina, but ever since he’d met her, his life had spiraled out of control and that didn’t sit well with him. He liked things tidy. He liked order. But here he was, on the run with this strange, beautiful little vagabond. It scared him to even admit to himself how beautiful she was. Now was not the time for physical complications. Matter of fact, it was the worst
possible
time. They had enough to deal with.

They sat silently for a while listening to the wind scuttle through the trees, watching the clouds race across the moon to occasionally darken the yard. The heat of her body warming him as the night deepened.

“You should get some sleep. I’ll keep watch,” he finally said. There was no telling what tomorrow would bring, or when whoever was hunting them would finally find them.

“I still hate you.” Her voice was soft, and there was no oomph behind her words.

“I know.” He sighed, but made no move to comfort her again. He felt like he was wearing a lead suit that prevented him from moving.

She curled up smaller, resting her head on her knees.

“There’s a bed inside,” he said, giving her another verbal nudge. “You should use it.”

She sat up, flinging her hair over her shoulder and frowning at him. “Are you always such a cold-hearted bastard?”

No reply was necessary; the one he would have given would probably have gotten him slapped anyway.

“I’m not exactly in the mood for sleep, okay?” she said, her voice warbling with fatigue and emotion. “You don’t even care what you’ve done. What you’ve done to me and Scamp.” She motioned to the dog who’d found himself a nice spot in the yard to lie in. Unlike her, he didn’t seem terribly concerned with their new circumstances.

Will heard her words, felt her pain, but finally realized he didn’t know how to respond. Women confounded him. Even his own mother, who he loved more than anything, had left him scratching his head more times than he could count.

“You can ignore me all you want, but you can’t shut me up. I am
not
going to die because of your bad karma.” She took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Do you hear me?”

Will winced as her words echoed off the hills around them. “Like you have a lot to live for?” he snapped back, his patience worn thin. Between being shot at, her dog and the damn country music she'd forced him to listen to, he’d been pushed to the edge.

She lurched to her feet and dusted off her backside. “And you’re as warm as a side of beef in a meat locker.” She stood up, and went back inside the cabin, slamming the door behind her.

He sighed again, hanging his head. Give him a gun, a job and a timeframe and he knew exactly what to do. Give him a woman, and he was lost...as well, lost could get. Sabrina was nothing like Tilly, or his sister, or even his mother, but she still managed to mystify him.

Scamp’s tag jingled as he got up. He stopped briefly to lick Will’s fingers, and then headed for the door. He scratched twice and a few seconds later, Sabrina let him in, slamming the door again.

Shutting Will out.

He should go inside and talk to her, apologize, but words failed him and so did his legs. What good would apologizing do anyway? It wasn’t as if he’d missed a birthday or an anniversary. He’d put her life in jeopardy. Will deserved her anger. He just wished he knew how to comfort her.

* * *

H
e came awake in an instant, his heart pounding as he lurched to his feet and swung his gun to the left, his gritty eyes trained on the corner of the house. The sound of his brother, Wynn, telling him to relax had him sagging against the porch post, the hand holding the gun falling to his side. Wynn was taller than him by about four inches and as solid as that chilly side of beef Sabrina had mentioned. Marriage hadn’t made him lazy, but he was definitely eating better.